PHL goes 4-0, meets

South Korea tonight
By Adrian Stewart Co

Mighty Sports-Philippines continued their winning streak in the ongoing 2019 William Jones Cup with a 116-87 victory yesterday afternoon over Canadian squad, the UBC Thunderbirds, at the Changhua County Stadium in Taiwan. The Philippine team is currently atop the standings with a 4-0 record, while UBC remains 0-4.
Despite the Canadians taking an early advantage, including six three-pointers in the opening quarter, the Philippines rallied to make it a one-point game, lagging behind 27-26 heading into the second period. Renaldo Balkman, Eugene Phelps, and Jeremiah Gray then went on a run for the Philippines, outscoring their opponents 39-9, and headed into halftime up 65-36.
In the second half, Balkman, Phelps, and Hamady N’diaye extended the advantage and, alongside hits from Gab Banal and Joseph Yeo, the Philippine side saw their lead widen to 98-58.
Yesterday’s win was a follow-up to their earlier victory over Japan, when the Philippines won 94-59 over the weekend at the Changhua County gymnasium.
Balkman, who turned 35 years old on gameday, delivered a double-double in that game with 27 points and 12 rebounds; while Mikey Williams contributed 17 points; and Phelps added 19 markers.
The Philippine team next faces the only other undefeated team in the competition, South Korea.
“I call the South Korea game our championship game,” said Mighty Sports-Philippines head coach Charles Tiu. “If we [take] care of business against South Korea, then I think it might be safe to say that we’re a good team.”
The game begins tonight at 7:00 p.m./ASC, WDJ